This invention relates generally to a textile fabric colored with a resin-bonded pigment, and particularly to a fabric which is dyed a first color prior to application of the resin-bonded pigment. Preferably, the level of fixation of the pigment is adjusted to allow removal of a substantial portion of the pigment during normal wash conditions, thereby exposing the underlying first color of the fabric.
The concept of fixing a pigment to a textile fabric with a film of binder is well known in the textile arts. These resin-bonded pigment systems or pigment printing systems generally fall into one of four distinct types:
1. Aqueous dispersion systems; PA1 2. Solvent dispersion systems; PA1 3. Water-in-oil emulsion systems; and PA1 4. Oil-in-water emulsion systems.
Emulsion systems are used predominantly. Pigment Handbook, Vol.II, Applications and Markets, pp. 335-353 (1973).
The desirable characteristics of a resin-bonded pigment system are ease of application, permanent attachment of the pigment to the fabric and minimal effect on the hand and performance of the fabric. The permanence of the pigment on the fabric is typically referred to in terms of washfastness, resistance to abrasion and crocking (rubbing off of pigment from the fabric). There are a variety of binder systems available which provide virtually permanent fixation of the pigment to the fabric, especially cellulosic fabric, throughout the fabric's life. On a solids basis, typical binder to pigment ratios are in the range of 2.5:1 to 4:1.
Recent trends in fashion have been to provide garments which have been dyed or pigment printed followed by treatment to partially remove the coloration. For example, "stone washed" denim may be prepared by abrading the color from the surface of a fabric by washing the fabric in the presence of small stones or pumice. Removing the color from the fabric reveals the natural color of the fibers underneath, usually cotton. Alternatively, dyed fabric may be "acid washed" in an acidic medium to create a mottled effect by partial degradation of the fabric fibers and loss of colorant.
A weathered effect has also been achieved by over-dying a fabric with pigment colors which wash down during laundering. However, since the pigment is not fixed to the fabric with a binder, the pigment continues to wash down over the life of the fabric.
Methods of pigment printing on precolored or predyed fabrics are known. The pigment and binder system is selected to create a permanent pattern of the fabric. For example, in Daniels, U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,107, a pigment paste and binder system containing an opacifier is provided which is useful for printing over dark background shades. The printing paste forms an opaque, washfast pattern which completely hides the underlying color.
A pigment printing system comprising a dye which is released or flushed upon being wetted to create a bleeding effect is disclosed in Tucci, U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,376. However, though the dye is released, the pigment is bound to the fabric to create a permanent pattern.